Police Accuse Hospital of Patient Dumping

LOS ANGELES, Apr. 11, 2007 - (none) -- A man in his 70s who was wearing a hospital gown, pants and an identification bracelet was dropped off in front of the Los Angeles Mission Wednesday in what police described as another case of Skid Row "patient dumping."

"The man could barely walk, and he told me that he was still very sick and needed medical attention," said Los Angeles police Officer Deon Joseph. "What we have here is a classic case of patient dumping, where a person who can't defend or care for himself was left alone in Skid Row. It's a disgusting situation."

Joseph said the man had been a patient at Downey Regional Medical Center.

Hospital spokesman Robert Fuller said the man, whom he identified as Moses Davis, left on his own and was not "dumped."

"We are being wrongly accused of that," Fuller said.

Joseph said he was patrolling the Skid Row area when he saw a taxi driver drop the man off around 12:45 p.m. in front of the mission, located at 303 E. Fifth St.

The driver said the patient had been "kicked out" of Downey Regional Medical Center, and officials there called a cab to take the man to the mission, Joseph said.

Fuller denied that account.

"Mr. Davis was not dumped by Downey Regional," Fuller said. "He was brought to our emergency room by ambulance on April 8 and admitted as inpatient. Yesterday, he said he no longer wanted to remain at Downey. He said he had a home address on Figueroa in Los Angeles.

"He got up and left the hospital against medical advice," Fuller said. "He was not discharged. Several hours later, he was just sitting out front on a bench and one of our staff asked him how he was doing. She convinced him to come back in for medical evaluation. He was re-evaluated, but he still didn't want to stay."

Fuller said Davis "didn't like the arrangement at his apartment and said he wanted to go stay with some friends. We asked him for a phone number and he could not provide this. He never said he was homeless and was not able to provide simple information.

"Our social workers who are expert in dealing with people in uncertain circumstances who don't want to admit they are homeless called the Los Angeles Mission and arranged a bed for him for 15 days. But we were told by a mission representative he had to be there by 5:30 and she could hold open a bed for him."

Fuller said Davis agreed to the plan and a taxi was called.

"We paid for it and he was taken around noon," he said.

But Herb Smith, president of the Los Angeles Mission, said nobody from the Downey hospital called the mission to make arrangements to bring a patient to the facility.

"This was a case of someone who didn't want to be here and was left here without his permission," Smith said.

"... This gentleman was obviously not in any condition to be here," he said.

Fuller insisted, however, that the hospital "had arranged for his shelter and acted appropriately."

Joseph said the man was taken to County-USC Medical Center for further treatment.

City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo said his office has no pending cases against Downey Regional Medical Center, and Wednesday's matter remained under investigation. The hospital could face charges of false imprisonment or elder care abuse, he said.

"We believe this type of action is a crime," Delgadillo said. "I think anybody who has had a chance to hear about the other cases ... believes it is shocking and it is a crime."

Local authorities have been working to crack down on hospitals that dump patients on Skid Row. Officials estimated in February that as many as 55 cases of patient dumping were being investigated.

In November, Delgadillo filed charges against Kaiser Permanente, alleging the videotaped dumping of a transient woman who wore little more than a hospital gown and slippers constituted false imprisonment.

Delgadillo's office also began investigating Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital following two incidents of alleged homeless patient dumping, including the release of a paraplegic man -- who was wearing a colostomy bag and found in a gutter -- and the discharge of a man who was still strapped to a gurney.

Officials from Hollywood Presbyterian conceded that "some policies and procedures were not strictly followed" in the case of the paraplegic patient. Hospital officials said it was changing its policies on the discharge of homeless patients.

In February, Sen. Gil Cedillo, D-Los Angeles, introduced legislation that would bar hospitals staffers from transporting a patient to a location other than the person's residence, unless they have the patient's informed consent. Violation of the law would be a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and up to one year in jail for an individual, and a fine of up to $10,000 for a hospital.

The bill, SB 275, was approved by the Senate's Health Committee. If approved by the full Senate and Assembly, the measure would be a strong tool in prosecuting hospitals that dump patients in Skid Row, Delgadillo said.

"Our laws were not designed in a way to take into account that hospitals would do this kind of thing," Delgadillo said. "I think hospitals should be the greatest representatives of humanity. Hospitals that are undertaking this activity have lost their heart."

Get more News »

• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•